Graveyard third season is riveting and socially aware

Turkey is a Muslim country and as such is assumed to be restrictive for women.  In many ways they are more westernized and women can be said to be relatively free, but as with so called more progressive countries they are struggling and deal with discrimination.  

A special task force is given a room in the basement of a police building in Istanbul which some call a graveyard.  The focus of the team is to investigate murders of women.

In the first two series they deal with a variety of murders against women.   See   http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2025/08/graveyard.html

Onem, after a break for personal reasons has returned and reassembled her crew.  A member of another group, Gokce learns of mysterious boxes given to women and feels they are a form of intimidation.  The boxes all have intimate knowledge and are numbered indicating they are the result of stalking.She is directed to the Special Task Force and eventually becomes involved in their investigation.  

In the meantime the Task Force gets involved with murders.  One is about a woman trying to hide her overweight body while doing cooking videos.  Her son was able to manipulate video tapes.  She becomes concerned about conveying a false message about body image.  

Before too long the boxes attract more attention.  Eventually the motivation becomes more evident as coming from some sort of incel group.   Incels are men who hate women, usually the result of rejection.  You know under layers of deception there is someone seeking revenge and making a statement about the role of women.  You have already seen grisly dead bodies, but the action and suspense go to a higher level as the team gets closer to cornering the culprit. 

Most of the film takes place in the modern city of Istanbul, but some of the investigation takes place in the town of Ephesus with buildings from Greek and Roman history.

The story is gripping and will draw you in.  Here are a few of cast and crew to credit.

Omer Baykel was the director.  He has 6 directing credits.

Abdullah Oguz was the previous director and producer.  He has 54 producing credits and 5 for writing including "Bliss" (2007).  See http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2011/05/turkish-delight-in-book-and-movie-form.html

Ozden Ucar was a key writer.  He has 5 writing credits and 1 for additional crew (river co-ordinating).

 

Cem Oget was the composer.  He has 47 composing credits, 22 for the music department and 1 for soundtrack. 

Ferhat Uzundag was the cinematographer.  He has 32 cinematography credits, 3 for the camera & electrical department and 2 for acting.

Sercan Guducu was the editor.  Sercan has 9 editor credits and 4 for the editorial department.

Bice Akalay played Onem, the head of the Special Task Force.  She was a finalist for the Miss Turkey contest.  She has modelled and became a sports anchor on tv.  She has 22 acting credits and 1 for soundtrack.

Olgun Toker played Serder Ata, a tough, sometimes brutal partner for Onem.  He has 71 acting credits.

Baron Guler played Berk, a forensic expert who tended to get sidetracked with tedious explanations.  He has 4 acting credits and 1 for acting.

Elif Cevinc played Sude, teenage daughter of Onem.  She has 10 acting crtedits.

Yesim Celebri played Gokce, the newest member of the Task Force.  She has 6 acting credits. 

Onur Durmaz played Bora, the bad guy.  He attended to the Vienna Conservatory where he studied music and acting while learning German, English and Italian.  He has done tv. commercials and has 13 acting credits. 

"Graveyard" is available subtitled and dubbed on Netflix.  I hope they come up with another riveting series.

As usual I bold the first mention of films I have seen.

Graveyard

"Graveyard" (2025) merely refers to the location of the office of Special Crimes that is in the basement, a dismal place.  The Special Crimes division was set up to solve cases where women were murdered in Turkey (femicide).  Onen was selected to lead.  She is tough and persistent.

 As a team the Special Crimes encounters lots of bureaucratic obstacles and some apathy.  There is a segment of women who wear submissive/traditional hijabs and of men who are dominant.  At the same time Turkey is more modern than other Muslim countries 

Police brutality is sometimes used to get information.  There is some opposition and ultimately success comes with a mix.  Onen is a good thinker striving to find root causes. 

Istanbul is one of the larger cities in the world and is unique in that it divides between Asia and Europe, strategically located at the outlet for the Black Sea that encompasses the Russian invasion of Ukraine. 

Abdullah Ogoz was the director.  He has 22 directing credits, 55 for producing and 5 for writing including "Bliss" 2007).   http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2011/05/turkish-delight-in-book-and-movie-form.html

Onur Bober was a writer with 5 writing credits.

Cem Oget was a composer.  He has 44 composing credits, 21 for the music department and 7 for soundtrack. 

Ferhat Uzundag was the cinematographer.  He has 30 cinematography credits, 3 for the camera and clectrical department plus 2 for directing.

Hamdi Deniz was an editor.  With 43 editor credits and 2 for the editorial department.

Birce Akalay plays, the lead Onen, in charge of the special forces.  She finished 3rd for Miss Turkey and went on to the Miss Europe contest.  Birce has been involved with sports programing and hosting.  She also is teaching theatre and acting courses.  She has 22 acting credits and 1 for soundtrack.

Olgon Tokar played an aggressive police officer. He has 29 acting credits. 

 It has strong plots, very good acting and a few brutal scenes. "Graveyard" (2022) is available subtitled and dubbed on Neflix. 

 Some political context:  http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2025/08/how-to-lose-country.html  in which Turkey is described as a fascist country.  The series suggests there is corruption, but this Special division is trying to the right thing.